5/16/11

Most of you know, but my daughter was diagnosed almost 3 yrs ago (at the age of 1 yr old) with type 1 diabetes.
It has been a rough ride to say the least, and also a solo ride.

I am writing this tonight to voice my opinion on "thinking positive".
I know that there is alot of negativity, mourning, sorrow, grief, anger, & other feelings floating about the Diabetes community.

Sometimes the negativity is so thick that I see others jumping on board and following the same behavior. I worry sometimes about the "newbies" coming into the diabetes community and seeing all the negativity. Will they follow suit? How will they react? Will they think this is what D is about? How will they in turn handle D in their own homes and lives? Will they run for the hills and lose all connection with the DOC? How will their D child feel?

Having your child or a loved one diagnosed with Type 1 is no picnic in the park. This is now a life long disease, and not only does the type 1 have to deal with it, but we as parents, spouses, caregivers, etc have to deal with this beast. D changes EVERYTHING regardless of how positive we are. Does that mean we should let it consume us? Not at all! But unfortunately, sometimes it does.

We are all different, and handle things differently. Some grieve for a loooong time....some get the wind knocked out of them and get back on their feet and move forward, some hate life and do not understand why this has happened to them or their child, and others pull back and mourn, and go into a depression. *Not everyone can jump on the bull and ride like a pro the first round.

Personally, I am fortunate to be a very strong person and I did not have the DOC when my child was diagnosed, and I had no one to lean on, vent to, or even get advice from. I had no choice but to be strong, not only for myself, but for my 1 yr old child who relied on me to be.

We are all different in many ways, but yet so much alike in other ways. We are supposed to support each other, be there for each other, and help lift each other up. Not everyone can be strong or positive, and not everyone can be mad, angry, or sad.

We are all sleep deprived in some way or another, and sometimes we tend to take things personal, or we say things out of frustration or use different wording and someone's feelings get hurt.
Lets all be supportive and understanding and remember that we need each other.